


so this is what it feels like

by blacksatinpointeshoes



Series: The Reyes-Johnson Family [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: (four years later), Dad!Robbie, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, F/M, Gen, Kid Fic, Married Life, Near Future, Quakerider are great parents, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-30
Updated: 2017-12-30
Packaged: 2019-02-23 19:51:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13197363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blacksatinpointeshoes/pseuds/blacksatinpointeshoes
Summary: This is what keeps them from being completely average. Daisy is an Inhuman with a vigilante past; Robbie and Maia are collectively the devil incarnate. There’s a beauty to it, this family that could take out a small army sitting in their kitchen and domestically bickering about proper use of fire power.or, the one where they're a family.





	so this is what it feels like

**Author's Note:**

  * For [marvelthismarvelthat](https://archiveofourown.org/users/marvelthismarvelthat/gifts), [Fierysky](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fierysky/gifts).



> this is how we all wanted respira to end, right? well, it's happening. in this 'verse, everything and everyone is happy and nothing hurts. enjoy :)

“Papa.” A pause, then more insistently: “Papa!”

“One minute, baby.” Robbie is at the stove, squinting as he leans in to turn down the heat on a frying pan. He and Daisy are cooking dinner for when the team comes over, a housewarming party of old friends and new ones. Namely, Maia.

When Robbie returns from Hell, no one expects him to have a seven-year-old child in tow. No one expects that child to be a surprisingly adorable, fire-wielding Spirit of Vengeance either – but so was the way of things at SHIELD. The girl, Maia, is sullen but lovable, fierce but gentle, and most of all, _young._ Mack points out she’s a lot like a very small, female… Robbie.

Everyone has a very solid wondering about where Spirits of Vengeance actually come from, considering Maia’s age and already mounting fury, her burning desire to set the world right. Robbie tells Daisy one night that he thinks the Spirit comes from a piece of the soul, released upon death, that can never be satisfied. He tells her he thinks that’s why the angry whispers in his mind speak in a voice that sounds so much like his own.

In the four years that have passed since then, a lot has changed. Robbie joins the team for real, as Elena’s partner. Fitzsimmons gets engaged. Six months later they marry. By that point Robbie and Daisy were dating too, shy and new. Gabe went off to Stanford. Maia refuses to leave Robbie’s side, so she stayed with SHIELD. Life starts to even out as much as it can, considering the line of work involved.

A year and a half in, Daisy and Robbie get an apartment of their own. They take Maia with them. She is quiet and wide-eyed, clinging to Daisy’s hand as the three of them survey the little space. “It’s nice,” Robbie says eventually of the empty studio, and Maia giggles for the first time.

“What?” asks Robbie, making a face, and Maia keeps giggling, and the two of them tussle on the floor like children, and Daisy can’t believe they’re so _happy._ They take a picture – false solemnity and all, with Daisy scurrying to set a timer on her iPhone in order for all of them to fit in the frame – and as Daisy reviews the photos, her hands still on the screen.

Maia’s springy, wild curls mirror Robbie’s, but her nose has Daisy’s upturn – _she looks like their child,_ Daisy realises, and is as if a bucket of ice water has been dumped on her head.

Things… change after that.

Two years in, Maia asks if she can become an agent. “No, silly,” Daisy says. “You’re nine.”

Maia throws out a hand and lights up the fireplace, just to make a point. “I’m not _just_ nine,” she says, and then as an afterthought she asks, “When is my birthday?”

Daisy looks into those bright eyes and looks at herself, years ago, so afraid to wish for a family. “July second,” she says without hesitation. “We can share.”

Two and a half years in, Daisy proposes. Robbie says yes. Robbie turns thirty-three and Daisy gives him reading glasses as a gag gift, but she catches him using them anyway. Coulson tells her that he and May will help pay for the down payment when they buy their house, and Daisy cries. He pretends he doesn’t see, but he hugs her so tightly she can’t help but wonder if he’s crying too.

Three years in they get married. It’s small. Jemma is the maid of honour; May and Elena are bridesmaids. Mack is best man. Gabe makes the trip from Stanford. May claims she didn’t get emotional but she so did. Because Maia – Maia, dressed in angelic blue and dusted with a silver powder on her cheeks, a wreath of lilies floating above baby-soft curls – Maia is the flower girl, beaming, a picture of innocence and rebirth and life. That night Mack and Elena announce that they are pregnant, and there is so much happiness in the room Daisy could burst.

Three and a half years in, the Reyes-Johnson family adopts Maia officially. Of course, they first need to officially fake her birth certificate, but afterwards it’s as legal as an adoption can be. “Why are you crying?” Maia asks Robbie as she sits on his lap while they watch cartoons. He can’t answer – how can he? Daisy is there, though, to assure her that they are happy tears, that these years have been the happiest of their lives.

So as this fourth year begins, Daisy and Robbie finally bought the house. Coulson kept his word about the payment, and Daisy and Robbie like to joke about being proper grownups now that they have a mortgage. She’s thirty-three now; he’s thirty-five. Mack and Elena are engaged and they have a baby girl - Faith. Fitzsimmons are expecting. They _have_ grown up, truly, but it’s alright. Life is nice this way.

“Papa!” Maia’s cry comes again. She is eleven now, and in secondary school. Unlike most kids, Robbie teaches her how to control her powers once her homework is done. The pair of them are so similar sometimes it’s uncanny.

“Hey – hey, I told you I’m coming,” Robbie says, and tussles her hair, slipping on his glasses and turning his attention to her. “What do you need?”

Her fingers twitch and Maia conjures a ball of fire, a frown set firmly on her face. “I told you not to do that when we’re cooking,” Robbie warns sternly. “What’s the rule –”

“There’s no one around to see,” Maia huffs. “And you promised we could…”

This is what keeps them from being completely average. Daisy is an Inhuman with a vigilante past; Robbie and Maia are collectively the devil incarnate. There’s a beauty to it, this family that could take out a small army sitting in their kitchen and domestically bickering about proper use of fire power.

“Tonight isn’t our night, honey,” Robbie apologises quietly, kneeling down to look her in the eye. Maia shifts, flexing her fingers and watching flame dance between them.

“But –”

“We can go for a round,” Robbie offers, and the girl perks up. It’s their way of taking out the Riders’ energies on each other, and also a rather violent bonding experience that makes Daisy laugh. Dressed in a purple shirt with a simple graphic design of a kitten, Maia’s excitement might appear out of character. But Maia is a fierce fighter, and since she’s started training with May, she’s only gotten better.

“Okay.”

“Be in for dinner,” Daisy says from above, and both her husband and her daughter glance back at where she is finishing up. They look at her for a few seconds, then at each other, and then to her again.

“You could… come with us,” Robbie says, a little smirk touching his lips. Daisy can’t help her smile in return.

“The team is going to be over in a few minutes,” she warns, but she’s already sold. Robbie stands.

“So?” he asks, wrapping his arms around her middle and sliding her chef’s knife to the side. “Let them wait. Or – let them join. No powers. It’ll be fun.”

“Your definition of fun is very different than most people’s,” Daisy counters, but there’s no resistance in her tone.

“We’re not most people,” Robbie replies in a throaty whisper, and kisses her cheek.

Daisy slides the glasses off his face and studies him for a while, wondering how the hell she got so lucky to be in a place like this. The orphan, the runaway, the renegade – here. In love. Living life to the fullest and to her best ability. “Come on, old man,” she says, reaching out to take Maia’s hand and pull the little girl into the hug. “I’m not going to go easy on you.”

“Good,” Maia peeps up from down below. “Because otherwise I’ll beat you _both.”_

And then they’re all laughing, because everything is good. Everything is so _good._

**Author's Note:**

> as always, I love reading your comments, receiving kudos, and having you visit me on my tumblr, thoughtsbubble. thank you for reading!


End file.
